Inspiration: Sister Corita’s Rules

Starting any new business – let along a genealogy business – isn’t easy and I often look for inspiration in various areas. While the typical sources include looking at similar businesses and looking at many blog posts, articles and online content, every so often you stumble upon something that makes you go “whoa.”

We’re not talking that cute inspirational saying that you re-tweet or a motto graphic you share with your Facebook friends or pin to a board on Pinterest. We’re talking something you take to heart, you study constantly, you actually order as a poster for your office . . . and you marvel at not only its complexity but also its simplicity. Such is the case for Sister Corita’s Rules (click the image above to embiggen).

Who Was Corita Kent?

Corita Kent was an artist and a nun in the order in the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. She was also an educator and taught art at the Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles, California whose work in the field of serigraphs had a profound interest on modern art in the 1960s and 1970s. It is likely that you’ve seen work by Sister Corita although you may not realize the name of the artist.

Sister Corita’s Rules

General duties of a student:
Pull everything out of your teacher.
Pull everything out of your fellow students.

Rule 3

General duties of a teacher:
Pull everything out of your students.

Rule 4

Consider everything an experiment.

Rule 5

Be self-disciplined. This means finding someone wise or smart and choosing to follow them.
To be disciplined is to follow in a good way.
To be self-disciplined is to follow in a better way.

Rule 6

Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail. There’s only make.

Rule 7

The only rule is work. If you work it will lead to something. It’s the people who do all of the work all the time who eventually catch on to things.

Rule 8

Don’t try to create and analyze at the same time. They’re different processes.

Rule 9

Be happy whenever you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It’s lighter than you think.

Rule 10

“We’re breaking all of the rules. Even our own rules. And how do we do that by leaving plenty of room for x quantities.” John Cage

Helpful hints: Always be around. Come or go to everything. Always go to classes. Read anything you can get your hands on. Look at movies carefully, often. Save everything it might come in handy later. There should be new rules next week.

Where do you find inspiration?

Whether you’ve started your own genealogy business, or you’re an amateur genealogist – what inspires you and where do you go for inspiration?

About the Author

Genealogy educator and author Thomas MacEntee has been researching his family history for more than 40 years and is the creator of Abundant Genealogy, Genealogy Bargains, DNA Bargains, The Genealogy Do-Over and numerous other web-based genealogy and family history properties.